


Bitties and Pieces

by AishaPachia



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bittybones
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-18
Updated: 2017-04-02
Packaged: 2018-07-24 19:14:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,390
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7519940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AishaPachia/pseuds/AishaPachia
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Have you ever wondered what would've happened, if a character from a game jumped universes on accident? What if said character turned into a little being that could be compared to be the size of a human hand at most?<br/>Find out how Sans survives through the hardships of being only 7" high and at mercy of a human girl. Will he trust her enough to let her help him? What exactly happened to him in the first place? What about the universe that he left behind?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> I'm using my own persona for this story because it got awkward to write "you" instead of the regular pronouns. Sorry, no reader/Sans here.

Aisha’s never ever considered that her life could change. Especially since she was a poor English student, who for the most part hated change. She led a boring life of a sophomore - attended lectures (mindlessly sitting through some of them, reading crap online through the rest), ate her cheap meals, hung out with friends from time to time. She wasn’t the most social girl in the city but she hated anyone who even tried to diss her small group of friends. The girl, or rather the young woman, had a handful of best friends that she held very close.

“It’s better to have a few BFFs than an army of Facebook fakes that don’t even know who you really are,” is what she always said. 

She lived with her mother as her parents had divorced around the time she left high school. She was fine with that. There were no more arguments from the two and it was much more peaceful once her father moved out. Aisha still called him from time to time for a meeting.

All in all there was little excitement in her life. 

That was about to change.

She was walking back from some party. It was quite late, around 12 am. She was perfectly sober as she did not like to drink too much alcohol. The streets were deserted at that time of the night. The streetlights were casting a dusted yellow light on the concrete sidewalks as she walked checking her phone. Her friend was sending her updates on the party that was still going on. Some of her friends were betting who would drop first after drinking a glass of vodka. 

“I should’ve stayed, just in case. I hope nothing bad will happen to them. The bunch of idiots…”

Suddenly she heard a cry of pain. It was rather high pitched.

“What was that?” She looked around to try and pinpoint the source of the weird sound. Next she heard some movement in the bushes right next to the entrance to her block of flats. Then came another sound of distress. 

“Could it be an animal…?” she murmured carefully approaching the shrubs. Kneeling down she moved some branches. She saw something that made her think she might’ve actually been completely wasted or high as a kite. There, stuck in some thin branches, with a crack on the side of the head was… Tiny little Sans the skeleton. Blue hoodie, white t-shirt, black gym shorts and blue sneakers. A small comedian skeleton. 

“Omg… This is impossible…” went through the girl’s head. The little monster looked at her, terrified. Next he tried to wiggle his arms and legs out of the offending bush. She could see that the crack on his head was oozing some liquid. Probably… Blood? Marrow? 

“Oh gosh, c-calm down, please! You’re only going to make it worse!” she gasped reaching out to try and steady him. Her hand met with a white bone that appeared out of nowhere and whacked her across the knuckles. 

“Ouch!” she hissed and yanked the arm back. She looked at the back of her hand. That would leave a bruise for sure. 

“Sans please listen to me and stay still!” she said losing her patience. The skeleton stopped moving. He was in shock at hearing his name being spoken by this stranger human girl.

“What?...” he whispered. “H-how do you know my name?...” he stuttered out starting to shake a bit in fear.

“I can explain that after you’re out of that mini jungle and your injuries are dressed properly. Got it? Now please let me untangle you…”

The skeleton tried to keep himself as still as possible when the girl started to untangle his arms and legs from the small branches and leaves. She was very careful and her hands were soft and warm which made the monster a bit sleepy. He’s been trying to find a good shelter to pick up the pieces of what exactly has happened in the last few days. It was unfortunate that each time he found a place a wild animal or some human would scare him away. He’s been on a run for 3 days. The crack was a result of a tumble from a branch of a tree. 

Once he was free the girl picked him up setting him in her palm. He was very small, around 7” (17cm). “Let’s take you to my house and clean your wound. That must hurt like a shedog. Also… I think you could use some grub on these bones. And someplace warm to sleep.”

Sans looked at her still unsure whether he should trust her or not, but feeling the exhaustion settling into his bones… He nodded. 

The girl beamed at him once he agreed. She stood up carefully, trying not to jostle her passenger too much. Then she entered the building and climbed the stairs. Once inside the flat her feet took her to the kitchen. There she put the little skeleton down on the counter and went to the medicine cabinet that hang on the opposite wall. Once she took out the gauze, band-aids and some antiseptic, she came back to her visitor. 

“Alright, let’s have a look. I’ll be as gentle as possible but this might hurt so… Brace yourself?” she was speaking as if to a hurt animal - in a soft, warm voice. She took a paper towel which she soaked in fresh water. Next she leaned over the small monster and started to gently wipe the wound off its liquid. It was a bit thicker than blood but had the same color. 

Sans gasped at the twinge of pain. It wasn’t the worst but it still stung quite a bit. He gripped the edge of his hoodie and ground his teeth trying to keep any more noises from escaping. The human was surprisingly very throughout in her work. Once she wiped the place from the blood she took a bit of clean gauze and applied a bit of the antiseptic. Then gently with quick swipes she disinfected the area. That made Sans whimper. It hurt!

“I’m very sorry… But we need to make sure this place is clean. Otherwise the wound could get infected…” she cooed while stroking his side with a free hand. A couple of minutes later she dressed the crack using a bit of gauze and two strips of band-aid criss-crossing across it to secure it to Sans’ head. 

“There we go, all done. How are you feeling?” she asked, stroking his uninjured part of the skull.

“B-better…” he answered, happy that the stench of blood was less noticeable. He hated the smell. “Uh… Could you… Who are you?”

Aisha caught herself almost tipping over. “Oh my gosh, I forgot to introduce myself, haven’t I? The name’s Aisha," she said coloring a bit at her mishap.

Satisfied with that little bit of information Sans looked around the kitchen to gather his surroundings. It was a cozy room filled with creams and beiges. There was a small table covered with a white cloth standing against the wall opposite of the counter the skeleton was sitting on. The cupboards had cream and light brown doors. Walls were painted light green, complementing the browns. Overall the room had a warm feeling to it. 

Slowly the skeleton got back to his feet. Aisha lent him her hand to lean against for support. 

“Should I trust you? I'm not the best acquainted with humans...” said the skeleton looking down at his feet. He felt a little wobbly due to his injury.

Aisha crouched down to be on the eye level with the monster. “Don't worry. I’ll take care of you. Keep you safe. I’ll try to help you as much as possible. I’m not asking you to trust me completely but to just give me a chance. Now… let’s grab something to eat and then I’ll tell you everything I know about you. Deal?”

Sans took a quick glance at girl’s soul. It was shining brightly, deep blue in color. Integrity. The LV and EXP stats were all at their lowest which meant she was good.

“I guess. Deal. Wha’chu got?”

The girl smiled and offered her hand. He climbed it and grabbed one of her fingers to steady himself, sitting in her palm. “Let’s see.” she took him to the fridge and opened it. “Hm… I know that you’re a fan of tomatoes so… maybe some kind of sauce? Or would you rather go for other vegetables?”

Sans looked at the shelves. Some held cheese some were filled with fresh produce like tomatoes, cucumbers. There was some meat and ham. A carton of milk and eggs. Nothing special but there were a few options available.

“I could go for something quick and easy… I really am hungry.” he said feeling that deep ache from lack of food.

“Alright. How about some bread and scrambled eggs with tomatoes?”

The skeleton almost began to salivate there. “That sounds awesome.”

Aisha plopped the monster down on a bunched up cloth so that he wasn’t sitting on the ‘ground’ and got to work. She cut some bread and put a pan on fire. Quickly mashed a little bit of a tomato and tossed it in along with some olive oil. Adding some basil she let the bit of tomato fry before adding one egg. She sprinkled it with salt and finely ground pepper next used a spatula to scrub the bottom of the pan to cook the egg. A couple of minutes later it was ready. It was very well mashed so as the little monster would scoop it up without problems. As for the utensils she got some cap from a soda and cut up a match to resemble a fork. 

“I see you’re handy with making tiny things.” Sans commented when taking the ‘fork’. It was nicely cut. It had no splintered parts that could hurt him as the girl used a very sharp knife. 

“Yeah, I like to work with small things. Especially in clay. You have to have killer skill with your agility and precision to do this. And sharp tools of course. If the knife is dull it won’t make a clean cut in the ice cream sticks. That could ruin the whole project or result in more sanding necessary.”

Aisha sat down watching him tear pieces of the bread and scooping eggs. He looked way too cute being so little. Sans was surprised to find that the meal was delicious. Just the way he liked it. The tomato went very well with basil and the eggs were cooked just so not to be runny nor hard. 

“I wish you could teach my Bro how to cook. These are tasty!” he praised around the full mouth. Aisha laughed. “Seeing as your brother adds glitter to his creations… I can easily see that would be helpful.”

Sans choked once again shocked. “You know about my brother too?” he managed after coughing up a non-existent lung. 

The girl massaged his back to ease his body. “Yeah. Finish your eggs and we’ll move to my room to talk. I’ll need my computer as reference…”

Few minutes later and the two were sitting in front of Aisha’s computer screen. Sans was seated on a small pincushion feeling nervous at what was coming. 

“Okay… I don’t really know where to start. So… Bare with me?” the girl was making sure the skeleton would listen to her explanation. She was unsure whether he would believe her or not. This was not something you could hear and take in stride. 

“Alright. A little more than a year ago… A video game came out. It was called Undertale and it was an instant hit. People jumped at it like ravenous wolves jump fresh meat. Everybody played it. The thing is, that the game’s characters caught the hearts of all the players around the world. I, myself played it and fell in love with it. How should I put this…? Undertale is a representation of your universe. You’re in there, Papyrus, Undyne and all the other monsters from Underground. The whole game is the story of the fallen human named Frisk. Rings a bell?”

Sans felt as if he took the broken elevator down to the True Lab. His soul was shivering in fright at the weight of Aisha’s knowledge. 

“This can’t be possible… A video game? All of my world… All that I know of… Just data inside a game?” he asked his eyes dimming a bit due to stress.

“I had no idea that was taking place in reality, somewhere out there... I mean… I’m pretty sure even the developer of the game had no clue he was visualizing an alternative universe. I guess the theory on multiverse holds true. Still… I have to ask… What happened to you? How did you get here? And why are you so small?” said the girl wringing her hands. The whole situation felt like a dream. She wanted to pinch herself to check whether it was real or not. Still she could feel the growing bruise from that bone she got whacked with earlier. The tender skin was already a bit purple. _Hm, no use for that pinch test then._

“Actually… I woke up like this in the middle of someone’s backyard. I was terrified since everything was so huge! Then a dog that was the size of a building spotted me and started chasing me. I climbed a tree to wait till it left. Of course it took hours for it to leave. When I was getting down the tree I slipped. That’s how my head got hurt. Afterwards I was running around like crazy trying in vain to find a safe place to gather my bearings. Every time I thought I was safe a human or another animal came by and I had to run and hide again. It’s been like that for like 3 days now… I’m exhausted …” he finished yawning wide enough to catch a fly even in his bitty state.

The human stood up and picked up Sans. “Well then, I guess we could both use some rest. Just where do you want to sleep?”

The skeleton looked at the bed. “The bed will be fine. I could sleep on some pillow or something.”

Aisha smiled and brought him down onto a small pillow that lay right next to the pillow she rested her head on. “Here you go. Would you like a blanket?”

“I think I’ll be fine.”

“Okay. I need to change my clothes. Be right back.”

She came back few minutes later to find Sans fast asleep.

“Poor little thing, he wasn’t kidding. I guess I would’ve been dead on my feet as well if I haven’t slept a wink for 3 days.” she whispered and bent down. The skeleton was curled up into a ball, breathing steadily while dreaming. 

Carefully she stroked him on his head and whispered “Goodnight sleepy bones” before going to sleep herself.


	2. Disconcerting News

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm very sorry that this chapter took this long to write, but I was so down on inspiration and had so little time because of my Uni... It was a nightmare. Next one should come out much sooner than this one. I promise. For now... Enjoy!

Sans woke up with a start, panting as if he’d run a mile. The wicked grin of the possessed fallen child still visible in front of his face. Quickly he scrambled to his feet and looked around. Slowly the events from a few hours ago came back and he began to relax. He was standing in the middle of a soft pillow. Right next to him was a huge human girl that he recalled was named Aisha. She was sleeping soundly, oblivious to the small skeleton’s distressed awakening. 

“Better be awoken by a bad dream than a hunting owl or something…” he thought to himself. Once he calmed down he noticed that he was trembling a bit from cold. Being that small made him easier to lose body heat (as little as he had of it before he got turned into a bitty). As he looked around a bit he spotted a cracked open window. It was probably the source of the cold.

“Now what?... I guess I can no longer say that the cold goes right through me, shrugging it off easily. It’s cold!” went through his head. He rubbed his arms a bit. The heat that he’d accumulated on the pillow was long gone since he stood up and now it’d take ages before it was back. He searched the area for any sort of cover or a blanket. Sadly there was nothing but the huge covers that laid on the human girl. At that moment the skeleton was desperate enough to get closer to the sleeping girl to maybe wake her up and ask for a piece of cloth but when he approached her he found out that she was very warm. She emanated heat like a heater. Aisha laid motionless, breathing in and out, her chest raised and fell in a rhythm. 

“I could just maybe… Lie down next to her?...” he thought getting close to the girl. 

While asleep she was on her back. One of her arms was resting on her sternum and the other one was draped on the pillow and the back of her head. Sans looked at the upper part of her chest. Carefully he climbed the girl and sat down in the middle of her chest. Even sitting on her warm body made him sleepy. “It’s as good a place as any…” he murmured to himself and lay down. Her pyjama top was made out of fluffy cotton reminding him even more of a cloud. Few minutes later and he dropped dead as a log. In her sleep Aisha covered him with her hand securing him in place so as he wouldn’t slip off.

What woke up the girl was the alarm clock that started blaring its shrill sound precisely at 8 am. Usually she stayed in bed for like half an hour to let herself gather her surroundings and chase the sleep away. This morning however she was startled by a long moan of discomfort that came from her front. She opened her eyes to the face of a very sleepy looking small skeleton.

“Gosh! Sans! I almost had a heart attack. What are you doing on my chest?”

The monster looked at her for a moment trying to wake up as well. Then while scrubbing the weariness from his eye sockets he said:

“Sorry… I woke up in the middle of the night and it was rather chilly since the window was open… I decided to climb you for some warmth… and fell asleep.”

The girl felt a warm feeling at the bottom of her stomach. Of course the guy would be like that and refuse to ask for a blanket. It was Sans - the most stubborn of all skeleton monsters. 

“I hope you slept well then. Still, it’s time to get up, and I still owe you some more explanation, I guess…” she said while rubbing sleep out of her eyes as well. Then she sat up to stretch her spine. 

Sans was observing her from the spot near the pillow. He was actually a bit fascinated watching the human female. During his few days on the run he was in so much stress that he barely had any time to do that with all the other humans he’d encountered. 

The girl had medium long rust orange hair that looked as if she decided to visit his trash tornado back in Snowdin. She had light complexion, was slightly chubby, but not too much. Aside from her striking hair color she looked average.

“Alright, let’s face the day. Come on.” She picked him up and sat on her shoulder so he could see everything. The skeleton used her hair as support. Thanks to his small structure and little weight he could probably even hang from the strands and she would’ve been fine. She went to the bathroom.

“I need to take a quick shower. Would you like to wash yourself as well? I could give you a bowl of water and some small sponge with shower gel or something. I also have to note that your clothes need washing as well…”

She put Sans on the washing machine. He looked so tiny compared to all clothes and the laundry basket…

“Um…” he sniffed the air. He noted that he smelled strongly of earth and dirt. “Yeah, I could use a bath… I’d like that.”

He began unzipping his blue parka when he spotted the human bringing in a bowl of water. She was carrying a little piece of sponge and a cap of gel. She set all of these items down next to him.

“Alright… Um… Please don’t look?” he asked shy and blue as a blueberry. He put up the hood of his parka to hide his embarrassment. 

“It’s okay. I could leave for a bit and start breakfast as you do your business. Would you like that?” she asked gaining a bit of color in her face as well.

Sans only nodded in agreement. Aisha left for the kitchen and the skeleton finished taking off his clothes. Next he climbed the bowl of nicely warm water. He used the clip of a sponge to lather up his bones and membrane that made up his stomach and torso.

“Surprisingly this is not that bad… feels almost as if I’m back home in my own bathtub. Even though this one is just a bit bigger…” he thought while scrubbing himself clean. 

A couple of minutes later he was done. He found a small towel that he used to cover the majority of his body and called for the human.

“Are you done?” came Aisha’s voice through the door.

“Yeah, almost turned into a duck I’m so squeaky clean,” he answered. What surprised him though was Aisha’s snicker before she opened the door. His little play on words made the human laugh. 

“Oh man, I almost forgot how humerus you get, Sans…” said Aisha while taking the bowl to empty and rinse it in the sink. When she came back she took the little skeleton’s clothes and washed them by hand. Then she picked him up and took him to the kitchen so he could eat the breakfast of sandwiches and tea as she went back to take her shower.

As he was munching on the bread with cheese he began to think. How much does the girl know about his world actually? She knew about his bro enough to know about the glitter. That was everyday knowledge to him but someone from across time and space? Too much a detail to take it for granted. She did not scream in fear at the sight of him nor when he attacked her yesterday. She was nothing but nice to him. Surprisingly he found himself trusting the human. Despite her knowledge she wished him no harm and wanted to help him.

“Welp… First time for everything I guess…” he murmured around the breadcrumb he’s been munching.

As he was finishing his meal Aisha exited the bathroom all ready for the day.

“How was it?” she asked sitting down grabbing her own sandwich from a plate already on the table. 

“Tasty and filling. Could I get some more tea?” asked the skeleton offering the small glass he's been drinking from. 

The girl took the offered dish and with a happy “Sure thing!” refilled the cup.

Sans was observing the girl while she ate, sipping his drink. She was checking something on her weird phone - like device. 

“Um… What are you doing?” he finally asked when the curiosity took over.

“Oh just checking the weather forecast. So I'll know what to wear. Last night was a bit chilly.” Aisha’s words made Sans’ eye lights pop out. “You can do that on your phone?” he asked bewildered. 

The human placed the smartphone back on the table. “Yes. I've got the Internet to do so. I can read or watch news from all over the world and many other things. I'd say that Frisk’s phone is much more impressive. The dimension boxes for one. I'd love that feature - to just store my stuff in my phone. I hate dragging around lots of luggage etc.”

Sans blinked a few times. “So you know about the kid as well. I'm curious… how much do you know about me and underground? You said that it's a game here right?”

Aisha took a sip from her own mug. “Yes. I could show it to you if you want. As for the other question… well I don’t know everything. Major facts, some smaller other bigger. I know that you’re a bit stuck in a loop. Or maybe not? What was the last thing you were doing before dropping here?”

Sans thought hard. It's been a few days but… “I think I was at home taking a nap… I was to check up on the kiddo once I woke up.”

“And you were on the surface? Or under ground?” she asked while scrolling through Pinterest. 

“Underground. Another reset took place and…” said Sans watching his hands resting against the glass. “I still don't know why they take place… Do you have any idea?” 

Aisha suddenly stood up with a terrified look on her face and picked up the monster almost snatching him away. Then she marched to her room, plopping down in front of the computer, turning it on.

“Huh? What’s the matter?” asked Sans a bit confused. As fast as lightning the human started typing away at the keyboard looking through some sites. She was paler by the second.

“If what I think happened… then your universe collapsed after you traveled here. Or rather your jump through time and space snapped the time line string entirely…” she said in a panicky shaking voice. 

Sans felt his soul almost freeze in place. “W-what!? Collapsed???” He forced out turning his attention to the screen. There was a long forum discussion. Topic - Undertale glitching out? 

The person who started the discussion claimed that the game wouldn't start and no matter how many times he downloaded it from Steam (whatever it is) and reinstalled the program he couldn't get it to work. Each and every new post claimed the same. And the long line of posts stating "same problem", "same", "no way, you too", was getting longer and longer.

The whole page was filled with exclamations of concern, distress, uproar over the fact that the program seems to have bugged out completely.

Sans started shaking a bit. This was something he was terrified of. “This can't be happening… What happened to all of them??? What am I supposed to do now???” muttered the skeleton his eye lights gone from his sockets. 

Aisha encased him in her hands, rubbing his back to try to calm him down, just like earlier. “We’ll think of something. Let me try starting up my game. Maybe it'll be different. Please don't give up even more... “ she said and then leaned on the desk to hug him close to her neck. While doing so she found the shortcut to the game on the desktop. It looked the same as usual. Simple icon with a line of text underneath. 

“How can you say that? They’re gone! Again! This time I can't bring them back, c-can I?” he sobbed clutching onto her collar. He was close to having a breakdown, shaking like a leaf.

She double clicked the icon for the game. At first nothing happened and so she started to feel the weight gathering in her chest. She wanted to cry as well but she was so scared for the little skeleton that it took her breath away. She tried again. Once again silence. _“Please… Don't let me down now… I need to help him. I have to help him!”_ she thought while fighting back her own tears. 

One more time. Double click.

  
  


Nothing.

  
  


She lowered her head and hugged the skeleton as close as possible. He was sobbing, his tears creating a growing wet patch on her blouse. 

But…

As she was about to break down as well there was a weird distorted blip from the speakers. Both of their heads snapped to the screen. There was a black window. Its label was glitching like crazy. The letters were forever changing, through all possible letters and marks and also many fonts, even Wing Ding. The black window itself looked to be glitching as well. There was a weird sheen of jumping pixels that seemed to have no idea what they were supposed to be.

“What the heck is this?” asked the girl horrified at the display. “What's going on with this file? It looks almost as if…” She opened up the task manager and found the program's parameters. Everything was out of whack. Numbers changing so fast it was too fast for the human eye.

“As if what!?” demanded the little monster wiping away his tears.

“The data is changing too fast for it to show properly…” she said while looking to the side, thinking hard.

Sans stood up from his knees that he’d fallen to beforehand. Once again he looked at the monitor screen. The noisy black window was still there. Through the silence of the room you could hear very faint noise coming from the speakers as well. It sounded just like the white noise on a TV that lacked picture.

“Too much data?... Could it be… that they're speaking at the same time? Or... Or something like that?” asked the skeleton turning his attention back to the girl.

Aisha straightened up and grabbed the mouse. She clicked the screen to make it active and the pushed a few keyboard keys. Nothing significant happened. The noise got a bit more chaotic and that was it.

“I got a hunch that it's more like all the time lines collapsed into one and it has too much data to process. The universe can't decide which of all these time lines is the primary one. It lacks one of the components,” she paused to poke him in the chest. “You. As far as I know everything needs all the parts to function correctly. Even the universe I guess. It's like a huge machine with lots and lots of tiny parts. If you remove one,” she made a gesture of taking something small away, “it falls apart. Like a house made of cards.”

Sans was standing still, surprised by what the human said. To him it actually made sense. Maybe that was the key to the resets? One of the parts got missing? “Uh… OK but what now? What are we supposed to do with this?...”

The human stood up from the desk and walked to the window. Looking outside she pondered her answer for a minute. “I guess we'll have to wait and see. I need to contact Toby…”

The monster perked up at the name. “Toby?”

“Yeah. He's the one who made this game. I'm sure he's also trying to fix it right now.”


	3. The Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time to reach out to the famous game maker. But also to answer some more questions.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took the longest time to write, I'm very sorry. But it's a bit longer so... That's a bonus?  
> Thank you for your patience. ^^

“Alright, let's write him that e-mail,” said Aisha once she found the right address. Sans was seated behind her hands on a bunched up soft towel that resembled a beanie bag.

“What should we write?...” The human murmured to herself while patting the keyboard with her nails creating a clicking noise.

“Well.... It'd be wise to include your proper personal data. If what you said is true about the popularity of this game, then he's probably getting a lot of mail from fans. Almost like spam. We want that guy to actually read it.”

“Yeah, probably. But how to put this together so it won't sound fake or like a prank? I can't write ‘Sans is here with me and that's probably why the game is glitching like crazy’, right? He'll think I'm pulling his leg. Hm…”

A moment of silence passed by as they thought. Once again Aisha stood up and looked outside. It always helped her think. She could see a bunch of birds playing on a branch of a tree that grew right the opposite of her window.

“I don't want to sound like some crazy fan that is just trying to get his attention,” sha admitted, crossing her arms.

While they were both brooding over this, Aisha’s cat made an entrance by jumping on the bed. It meowed stretching its back.

“Oh there you are. I believe it's time for your breakfast as well, huh,” she said approaching the bed.

Sans, seeing such a big (in his perspective) animal, hid behind his beanie bag. “Is that your cat?”

The girl scratched it's head. “Yes, this is Kira. She’s very nice and well behaved. You don't have to worry about her jumping you or anything. She and Ducky here,” she pointed to a cage that sat beneath the window that contained a guinea pig, “are coming along perfectly. No animosity whatsoever.” 

Next the human picked up the skeleton and despite his sound of surprise presented him to a perplexed cat. It stood a bit straighter and looked down on the monster in curiosity.

“This is Sans, Kira. His our new resident for as long as it'll be needed. Say hi.”

The monster felt a chill run down his spine. The cat looked at him for a moment then it lowered its head and smelled him. To Sans’ surprise it began purring and nuzzled him before liking his cheek. 

“There you go. You're friends now!” exclaimed Aisha with an encouraging smile. She petted the cat. “You're such a good kitty, Kira.”

Sans stood stiff as a statue. He was not expecting that to happen. Most of the animals he'd encountered were too energetic or scared. Usually started to play with him as if he were a toy or chased him around. This one seemed to understand its owner.

“OK you big ball of fluff. Let's feed you.” She put the skeleton back on the beanie. “Stay here. I'll be back in a moment.”

Sans nodded still in state of shock.

The human left only to return with a mug of tea. She sat down and cracked her fingers. Sans flinched at the sound.

“Oh sorry! Does that bother you?” she asked worried.

“No it’s… fine. Just… too loud,” said Sans a bit sheepish. 

“I'll remember that in the future. I think I've got an idea what to write.”

The monster’s eye sockets widened a bit. “You do?”

“Mhm.”

  
  


15 minutes later…

  
  


“Here you go. What do you think?”

Sans looked at the screen.

  
  


Dear Toby Fox,

I know that what I have to say may sound outrageous and crazy, but I have an idea what caused Undertale to crash. And I might know what is keeping you from fixing it. As of now I can't tell you more since it’s a bit hard to believe. I would like to talk to you. If you'll find yourself ready to listen to me, I'm eager to meet you online. My Skype profile is AishaPachia17. 

  
  
  
  


See you there,

P******* D*****

  
  
  
  


The skeleton was a bit impressed. The message sounded good, professional and serious. But not too serious.

“It's great. Will do for sure,” he praised with a huge smile.

The girl smiled as well and said “Alright then, let's send it off,” and hit the send button. It was done.

“Okay, that problem off our chests. What now? Seeing as there's still a few things I need to tell you… I guess let's go with that, shall we?”

“I'd like to hear about everything.” Sans lay down on the beanie after adjusting its shape.

“Hm… I'm unsure where to start.” Aisha started fiddling with a scattered pencil that lay nearby. Next she opened a drawer and took out a notebook. It was filled with some loose papers and post its. 

“What is that?” asked the skeleton pointing at the object.

“This is my sort of scrapbook for everything Undertale related. I've been putting all my thoughts and info that I gathered throughout the whole game and all the theories that I came up with or other people proposed in here. Everything related to the game.”

She laid it down next to the monster and flipped the cover.

“Whoa obsessed much? You never said you were worse than Alphys with all the stalker stuff.”

Sans could hardly believe what he was seeing. The notebook itself wasn't thick but the amount of sticking out papers made up for it.

Aisha just laughed at the comment. “You're not the first one to say that. My friends say that I'm obsessed even more than the creator. As he programmed the game he should have all of his notes somewhere as well, right? Still, I have to admit, this is my little 'senpai' that I’m stalking. It’s kind of fun, like gathering research material or doing some investigation. I find it relaxing, but exciting at the same time, if that makes sense.”

Sans arched his brow bone and shrugged. “Whatever floats your boat.”

“Anyway, there’s a lot of stuff I still don’t know about. Especially regarding the first Fallen Child. Except their name, lack of fixed gender and some little hints here and there, I have no idea why they’re so vicious in this game. And why they hated humanity in the first place. Some people speculate that they’ve been badly treated by the humans on the surface and thus decided to leave the village they lived at. It was probably at the foot of Mt. Ebott. Others say that they were born different with their red as blood eyes and that pushed them away since humans hate all that is different. Kind of connects to the first theory, huh… At the very beginning of the game we are treated with this cutscene of sorts, which is actually a flashback to the First Child’s fall to the Underground. It’s said that the mountain is shrouded in mystery and whoever dares to climb it goes missing, never to be found. Like some legend, but with a warning.”

Sans was mulling over the new info. It was quite jarring to hear such things about that abomination. It was possible for them to have lived on the surface and fallen to the Underground by accident. But on the other hand, the things Aisha said… Implied that there could be something a bit more sinister taking place instead.

“So what do you think happened to them?” he asked playing with an edge of the material he was sitting on.

“I’m not sure how true my assumption could be… But I have this theory that the First Child lost their humanity (so to speak) at the moment of their death. Maybe it’s lost in the Underground, maybe even in the Void. I know that they used to love monsters very much. So much so that they actually committed very long and painful suicide just to try and let you guys have your freedom.”

Sans jumped in shock a bit at that titbit. “What? Suicide???” he asked, shaken to the core. In the skeleton’s opinion it was one of the most horrible ways to go - taking your own life. Even he couldn’t have ever had done so, no matter how anguished or depressed he was. He just couldn't end himself like that.  

Aisha looked to the side with a sad expression on her face. “Yes. Nobody but the First Child and the Little Prince knew about their plan. Apparently Chara came up with the idea of giving their soul to Asriel for him to go outside and gather the rest of the required souls to break the barrier. They got the idea of poisoning themselves after a mishap with a recipe, when Asgore got sick after ingesting buttercups, which were mistaken for cups of butter by the children. And so the child ate a bunch of flowers that made them “very sick”. After a little while they died in slowest most painful way imaginable - by a slow acting poison. Buttercup poisoning is one of the worst possible ways to go. It makes you suffer abdominal pains like no other, vomiting, kidneys getting destroyed along the way... Either way, Asriel took their soul and crossed the barrier. Nobody knows this aside from outsiders - gamers, but once there, Chara tried to take control of the Prince to try and kill the humans from the village. Of course the goat son refused and let them hurt him in retaliation for being something unknown carrying a body of a dead human child. After being mortally wounded Asriel came back to the Underground to turn to dust in the throne room in front of his parents.”

The skeleton monster sat in silence. What the human said made sense. If the human child came up with the idea of actually killing themselves, in a painful manner at that, just so they could go out and kill… It made no logical sense. 

“Alright, I get it but what  if they tried to get revenge on those people for how they treated them? As in… What if they had this plan as a sort of last resort at getting back at them? But then... If the child knew that the mountain was dangerous, that people actually disappeared there… Why would they climb it?” noticed the skeleton.

The human girl smiled. “Yes, that is also a big question mark. But let’s not forget that we’re talking about a child, that fell down and was adopted by a loving family of monsters. I think Chara could've wished to commit suicide by climbing that mountain. But then, after being taken in by the King and Queen, who showed her so much kindness and love, they decided to pay it forward and so wanted to let you out of your “cage”. The only piece that won’t fit in this giant jigsaw puzzle is that Chara is a bloodthirsty monster-like human soul residue that clings to Frisk throughout their journey through the Underground, each and every reset. That and also the attempted killing spree on the surface. Still can’t quite put that together. And that’s where my idea of a fractured soul comes in. What if Chara’s soul did not shatter to tiny pieces? What if it’s still stuck somewhere Underground but also somewhere else which prevents them from “passing on”?” she proposed while leafing through her notes.

Sans creased his eyebrow bone in deep thought. “Hm… That would actually make a lick of sense… About the last child - Frisk… What’s wrong with them? Erm… Her? Him? Those resets…”

Aisha stopped her journey through the notes. “Well, their gender is never once specified so I just assume both of these children are either agender or female (I got this feeling that that’s the way to go). Aside from the gender problem… There are some things I can’t exactly explain, since I don’t know what is real and what is just the part of the game mechanics. Alright, I’d like to ask… Whenever you fight with a human… Does a box with information like health points, other stats appear before you? Or is it just in the game?”

“Well… When it comes to my magic I can "sense" such information. Not see as a box filled with text but hear a sort of inner voice giving me that information. Other monsters… Not up to the point I do. They can get a feeling if someone is dangerous, high in LV and EXP but other than that… Not really. Why are you asking?” Sans got interested with that question. Could it be that the human child can also sense such information?

“Hm… That’s interesting… Well, now I know why you were appointed to be the judge… As for Frisk, they can also see that information, erm… I’d fathom a guess they more likely can sense the info rather than see it. I’m not sure if it comes from Chara or if it is Frisk’s own ability. I also came up with a theory that Frisk or Chara or both are/were also magical. Maybe their ancestors were the ones that sealed you under the mountain?” Aisha made another assumption while putting it down on a new page in her notebook. 

"So they could also sense that? I had no idea. They never said anything... about such an ability," said the skeleton making a mental note.

"Oh, as you mention this... Frisk actually talks? Have they ever spoken to you?" the human girl's curiosity piqued.

"Kind of? I could see their hand movements, but at the same time I could hear them at a spiritual level. Their inner voice was soothing and quiet. Whenever the First Fallen Child was in front of the wheel, so to speak, they never said anything, just laughed while killing the monsters and smiling like a deranged maniac. I tried to strike up some conversation but... They never engaged in it. Just attacked silently or giggling like mad."

"I see that people were right in that regard then. Some people proposed this idea that Frisk was a mute and they couldn't hold a voiced dialogue. That's why they're silent throughout the game," Aisha smiled at the memory of how much uproar this one suggestion created.

"I guess it fits. Either way, what about the First Fallen Child? How are we supposed to deal with them? I tried many times to make them change their ways... Each and every time ended in slaughter. And if Frisk was the one to hold the reigns, we would get outside and then... Reset."

Sans looked even more tired while talking about this. The shadows under his eye sockets got deeper, darker. He hunched over in a defeated manner. That right there, was the sole reason why the human girl did not want to engage the topic for too long. They still had too many unanswered questions and no clues. 

"I don't know about that. In the game we can just reset whenever we want to. I played through the game only once and never resetted. I wanted to let you have your peace. I gathered all my data from other people who actually played many times and got all the outcomes. I found the notion of trying the Genocide run to be nauseating to be honest. I came to love all of you, even though you were just some fictional characters at the time, and could've never brought myself to harm you in any way," she admitted, patting him softly on the back. The skeleton felt a bit better when she was doing that. 

"I really must be starving for comfort, if this girl, who is a complete stranger, can make me feel better like this..." he thought allowing the petting to happen. "So you've never ever tried this 'Genocide Run' as you call it?" he asked raising his head to look her in the eye.

Aisha fidgeted a bit in her seat. "Um..." she began slowly, her face screwed into a guilty look. "Once. I used a save file that I found online. I tried battling you in the Judgement Hall."

There was a long pause. The little monster looked at the girl with wide eye sockets. He was getting some slight flashbacks of all the time he spend there, battling the human. "No... You can't be..."

Aisha jumped to an explanation. "No, no! I never harmed you! Every turn I swiped at you the least I could since if I missed the game wouldn't progress. I survived up to the point where you fell asleep from exhaustion. And... I left you there. I closed the game and got rid of the save file. I couldn't bring myself to actually harm you since there was no way out. And so I've never ever opened the game again," she exclaimed while battling her throat constricted with guilt. 

Sans deflated a notch there. "Oh..." He exhaled calming down. "I see... You took on the challenge just to..?"

"See if I could get by without stabbing you. I wanted to check if it was possible to let you go. I couldn't though. I could only attack you. I couldn't flee nor spare you," said Aisha sadly, lowering her head. "I wish I could though... I tried so many times to spare you. I guess the previous player's choices couldn't have been retconned."

The way the girl spoke of her wish to change things made Sans' soul warm up. She sounded so convinced that she could've changed the outcome if she tried hard enough. 

"And yet I couldn’t do a thing. And now I’m peeved because I don’t know if it was possible or not. If I just gave up too easily,” she muttered pouting sadly.

The little skeleton stood up and walked to the edge of the desk, where Aisha's hands rested on the tabletop. He put his own tiny hand on hers, saying, "I can only say that you at least tried. And it seems you tried hard enough. Don't feel bad for something you couldn't have changed."

The human sniffed a bit. "Thank you," she said while putting some stray hairs behind her ear. "Still I wish I could make your life a little better. You've wasted your own health and sanity away just to try and protect who and what is dear to you. That is not something that should be swept under the rug."

"I did what I had to do. I couldn't exactly stand and watch. I wish I could've done more, though. I think I should just catch them just past the Exit from the Ruins and talk some sense into them, instead of scaring them shitless," he admitted while cringing. "That probably didn't help at all. Still let's leave that for now. I have some other questions," he said approaching the keyboard. 

"Yes, what kind of questions?" Aisha was eager to change the subject from the Genocide Run to something lighter. She fixed her pose, since her back was starting to act up. It was a pity that she had bad lower back at the age of 25. Sometimes sitting during the many lectures, that she'd sat through already, was a nightmare. None of the classrooms/lecture halls had seats that were comfortable enough not to distract her with the twinges of pain here and there. 

Sans sat down in his 'beanie bag' stretching out his bones. "Well, I know that you know a lot about my world, but I don't know anything about you. Would you mind telling me something about yourself?" he asked with a lazy smile.

"Oh," his question surprised the human girl. "You wish to know about me?" she asked just to confirm if it was exactly what he wanted to hear about.

"Yes, you're a mystery in this calculation. Maybe once I get to know you more I'll find out why it was you who I ended up with. Or why it is only you who can get anything out of my world aside from fiction."

That was the greatest of all questions - why did Sans end up with Aisha?

"Well... There's not that much to me at all... I'm an English student who might end up as a translator in the future. I live with my mother, since my parents are divorced. Right now she's away at our family's for the holidays. I have a few hobbies: drawing, singing, playing video games to name a few. I read a lot of fanfiction - fiction written by fans of fandoms. I write my own little pieces from time to time," she said looking around the room to find something to talk about. "I've got a few friends that I hold dear. I'm not of a family person. I rarely see my family, since they're not my kind of people. Most of them criticise me on everything that I do. Because of that I don't visit them often. As you already know I have two pets: Kira and Ducky. That's about it," she finished shrugging her shoulders. 

"You don't like your family?" Sans inquired, curious. 

Right then Sans saw Aisha's face sag in sadness a tad. It was hard to see at first, but she seemed to have gained around 5 years because of that expression. Her eyes showed some shadows, that meant little sleep or nightmares just like his. Her face became longer and paler than it was just a moment ago. Her eyes lost some of the shine and became murkier color. 

"I'm sorry... But yes. I don't have the best of relationships with the members of my family. Some of them are fine - those I rarely see, the rest is just prejudiced and see me as someone else, because of all the wrong facts they got from other people. Some of those even came from my mother when she herself knows about me so little... She just assumes and most of the time she comes up with wrong ideas. For example she accused me of having some sort of conspiracy with my father on the account of us meeting from time to time. She asked me to sever all the ties with him, even though he wanted to keep our relationship on a stable, friendly ground. Because of her wild imagination we tend to have a lot of arguments. The same goes for the rest of my family." Aisha's voice was small and sad. It was obvious that she found the situation in need of fixing, but because of her family's approach it was impossible to change their minds. "My father is not the best person there is, either. He's had two wives before my mother, lied that he only had one, and next went after our neighbour when he got tired of my mother's accusations and complaints. I kind of don't blame him for the latter, but why would he lie about his second wife? I'll never understand I think."

The monster could hardly believe what he heard. He knew that some couples do not survive too long, even among monsters divorces happen, but to actually change a partner 3 times? That was unheard of, especially with multiple divorces involved. Monster marriages lasted for life. There were few of those who severed their vows in light of cheating or losing interest etc.  

"I see..." he muttered. "Then I don't blame your bad relationship with them. I guess, it is a shocker to me, since my brother and I go along so well. We tend to argue a lot, or rather Papyrus tends to yell at me for being lazy, but I know he does that to encourage me. He wishes to make me a better person. I admit, that I am a lazy couch potato most of the time, but I try too. I used to be a lot more lively. The resets sapped me out of all my will to do anything requiring any effort. No matter what I do it doesn't matter. It all resets and I'm back to square one. What's the point? Either way, back to you," he paused to gather his thoughts. "I guess you turn to your friends more than you do to your family... What kind of friends do you have?"

Aisha smiled wide. It lit her face back to being young looking. It seemed the notion of friends made her feel better and keep her head up.

"As I said I have just a few of them. There's Bello, who has been my friend ever since the kindergarten. Then Bib, who's his fiance, I know her through Bello. Aside from these two I know a handful of people from my university. Alex and Barbara are my closest friends there. I also have a friend that I met during one of my summer jobs - Anna. And that's about it. These are the people who I talk to most of the time," she said in a lighter voice. 

“True, not that many… I guess it’s better to have just a few of them than a herd that you don't talk to.”

Aisha’s face softened. “I’m glad you understand,” she said and next turned her attention to her computer screen. She opened a new tab in the browser and typed in the facebook address. Next she opened a conversation with someone nicknamed Flowey. 

“Huh? Who’s that?” asked the small skeleton, watching her. 

“Oh, that’s Alex. I need to meet with her since she’s got some notes that I might need/find helpful for my upcoming exam,” the girl answered typing away at the keyboard about a proposition for the meeting time and place. 

Sans scrunched up his eyebrow bones. “But why Flowey? That’s a weird nickname.”

Aisha perked up at the question. “Oh, that’s right! I haven’t told you about this… And I believe you don’t know about this little tidbit.” She turned to him. “Well, you may know about a yellow flower that talks, right?” 

Sans could feel his back itching in trepidation for some unknown reason. “Erm, yeah, the one that my brother supposedly talks to. I asked the kid about it but they had no idea what I was talking about. What about it?” he said fixing his position on the beanie.

You know about the Prince and his death, right? How he went outside of the barrier and came back wounded just to turn to dust? The thing is, that’s not the end of his ‘life’ so to say,” she explained cautiously. 

The human was a bit worried if she should tell him this or not. In the end he would find out eventually. Especially since Sans is quite a stubborn skeleton. Either way, should she break the game walls like this? Break his own universe laws? Though...Were there any laws to be broken left? Just the fact that the monster turned up in her world was a broken law right there. And it seemed to have caused quite a commotion on the other end. The game wouldn’t start up. If it did it was a glitchy mess that had no substance to hold it together, just scrambled data that had no idea what it is supposed to be. 

_ “But I can’t just leave him in the dark like this… The purpose of the game is to be a never ending source of entertainment. But for these guys it’s a never ending loop of happy and disastrous times. No fun at all. Maybe some people may throw tantrums on how it won’t work anymore, but I don’t give a flying one. These monsters need their rest. And I will do anything to help them,”  _ she decided looking at the apprehensive little skeleton. 

“You see the problem is that he died turning to dust that fell on a flower that grew in the throne room. His essence somehow survived in that flower. And next came Alphys with a syringe of determination. She gave him life back so to speak. There's only one problem - he can't feel love. Any other emotion is fine but he can't have any affection towards other beings. And thus he tried many times to learn how to love again only to discover that he can't. And next he discovered that he could reset the timeline.” 

Sans went rigid.  His mind got overwhelmed with images of a huge monstrosity made out of vines. 

“He c-can control the timeline?” he stuttered out gripping the towel that he was wrapped up in. His soul was shaking in distress.

“Fortunately he became unable to control it with the appearance of Frisk in the Underground. It's probably due to them having more determination than them and thus being stronger. I still wonder where Alphys got the determination from in the first place. As far as I know, except for Chara, there hasn't been any child before Frisk that had that trait,” she mused over while typing some more.

“As for my friend she’s got that nickname because that was her result in a quiz ‘which Undertale character are you’,” she threw in as an afterthought.

Sans was once again thinking hard. It was a good question about the source of the determination.  _ “Could it be that Alphys got that before the child passed away? No… she became the royal scientist after the child before Frisk died leaving its soul to be picked up by Asgore. It's impossible. Something doesn't add up.”  _ he thought looking at Aisha's conversation with ‘Flowey’. They agreed to meet on Saturday around noon. 

“That weed is the worst…” muttered the girl.

“Huh?” Sans looked at her.

“Sorry I was talking about Alex. We've got this weird relationship of calling each other names.”

Aisha puffed out her cheeks. She was used to the taunting nature of the younger girl but it still got onto her nerves at times.

“You're calling each other names? Why?” asked the skeleton confused.

“It's just this thing between us. We do this good-naturedly as friends. Either way sometimes it's a bit annoying.”

“I see… Is she a good friend?” asked the skeleton pondering something.

Aisha sighed loudly. “Yeah, I guess. She's here whenever I need an advise or just to hang out. I hope you won't mind if she came over?” she inquired typing away at the keyboard. 

Sans weighed the options. On one hand he was curious about the new human. On the other he was worried about her reaction. The fear of being carted off to some lab was still lingering at the pit of his stomach. Still he was trusting his new friend not to put him in danger. 

“as long as she won't pester me and invade my personal space without consent… I guess I'm okay with it. She doesn't look dangerous…” he said playing with the beanie. 

Aisha leaned over a bit resting her hands on the desk. “I won't force you into interacting with other humans. She's just coming over to discuss some fanfiction and play games. A little hang out session so to say. We've been planning this since last week so I can't push her away. I really like to spend time with her.”

“Don’t worry about little me. I’ll be fine. Just… Let me choose the moment to reveal myself, deal?”

The human nodded. “Deal.”

**Author's Note:**

> If there are any mistakes, please let me know. I'm from Poland and English is my second language.


End file.
